Studies on the acceptability, sensor properties & consumer perception of reformulated reduced sodium ready-meals.

The thesis was undertaken to determine the effect of salt reduction and the addition of salt substitutes/flavour enhancers on the sensory acceptability of commercial frozen and chilled ready-meals. High salt concentrations were found in a number of readymeals sold commercially in Ireland. Despite adverse consumer attitudes to these products they remained a popular food choice with consumers. Sensory analyses conducted to determine the effect of a number of salt reduction strategies on three frozen ready-meals found that salt levels in chicken curry ready-meals could be reduced by 33%, by 50% in chilli con carne ready-meals and by 29% in lasagne ready-meals. The addition of commercially available salt substitutes or flavour enhancers into these meals allowed further salt reductions ranging from 48 to 66%. The impact of salt reductions on the sensory characteristics and volatile composition of three chilled ready-meals was determined using flavor profile descriptive sensory analysis coupled with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrumental analysis. This approach identified several significant flavour/textural differences as affected by salt reductions. Reformulation by addition of selected spice blends into reduced salt cottage pie and chicken supreme ready-meals resulted in acceptability scores comparable to commercial regular salt counterparts. Finally, reformulation of reduced salt vegetable soup with added whey protein (lactoferrin) hydrolysate or rosemary significantly increased acceptability over its commercial regular salt counterpart. Interestingly, salt taste detection and recognition thresholds had no significant effect (p>0.05) on consumer acceptability or purchase intent of a series of regular and reduced salt vegetable soups. Overall, this thesis provided a detailed insight into the sensory aspects of reformulation strategies for salt reduction in frozen and chilled ready-meals.